Warplanes of the USA: Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

(USAF Photo)

Early F-104A's in flight (Block 15 or F-104-LO-15, the last F-104As produced).

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is anAmerican single-engine, supersonic interceptor which was extensively deployedas a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheedas one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the UnitedStates Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multiroleaircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeingwidespread service outside the United States.

After a series of interviews with Korean War fighter pilots in 1951, KellyJohnson, then lead designer at Lockheed, opted to reverse the trend ofever-larger and more complex fighters to produce a simple, lightweight aircraftwith maximum altitude and climb performance. On 4 March 1954, the LockheedXF-104 took to the skies for the first time, and on 26 February 1958, theproduction fighter was activated by the USAF. Just a few months later, it waspressed into action during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, when it wasdeployed as a deterrent to Chinese MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. Problems withthe General Electric J79 engine and a preference for fighters with longerranges and heavier payloads meant its service with the USAF was short-lived,though it was reactivated for service during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and theVietnam War, when it flew more than 5,000 combat sorties.

While its time with the USAF was brief, the Starfighter found much more lastingsuccess with other NATO and allied nations. In October 1958, West Germanyselected the F-104 as its primary fighter aircraft. Canada soon followed, alongwith the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and Italy. The European nations formed aconstruction consortium that was the largest international manufacturingprogram in history to that point, though the Starfighter's export success wasmarred in 1975 by the discovery of bribe payments made by Lockheed to manyforeign military and political figures for securing purchase contracts.

The Starfighter eventually flew with fifteen air forces, but its poor safetyrecord, especially in Luftwaffe service, brought it substantial criticism. TheGermans lost 292 of 916 aircraft and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989, its highaccident rate earning it the nickname Witwenmacher ("widowmaker")from the German public. The final production version, the F-104S, was anall-weather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. It wasretired from active service in 2004, though several F-104s remain in civilianoperation with Florida-based Starfighter Inc.

The Starfighter featured a radical design, with thin, stubby wings attachedfarther back on the fuselage than most contemporary aircraft. The wing providedexcellent supersonic and high-speed, low-altitude performance, but also poorturning capability and high landing speeds. It was the first productionaircraft to achieve Mach 2, and the first aircraft to reach an altitude of100,000 ft (30,000 m) after taking off under its own power. The Starfighterestablished world records for airspeed, altitude, and time-to-climb in 1958,becoming the first aircraft to hold all three simultaneously. It was also thefirst aircraft to be equipped with the M61 Vulcan autocannon. (Wikipedia)

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed XF-104 (S/N 53-7786) in flight, the first of two, 1957.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed XF-104 (S/N 53-7786), on Rogers Dry Lake, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

(USAF Photo)

Three German Lockheed F-104G Starfighter aircraft (s/n 63-13238, 65-12747, 67-22517) the 69th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron from Luke Air Force Base flying over Arizona (USA). The F-104Gs were used for the flight training of Luftwaffe (German Air Force) pilots, and, although German, the F-104s had USAF markings. The F-104G 65-12747 had been licence-built by Messerschmitt with the German serial number "KE+398". All three planes were later sold to Taiwan.

(USAF Photo)

German Air Force Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter 63-8469, being operated by the 418th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Luke AFB, Arizona. Luftwaffe 27+71 Sold to Norway in 1977 after squadron inactivated.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (s/n 56-0834) of the 151st Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Tennessee Air National Guard, in front of the 151st hangar at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, in 1961, during the 1961 Berlin Crisis. The inscription "TENN AIR GUARD" was later replaced replaced by "U.S. AIR FORCE".

(USAF Photo)

157th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0841).

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0863) from the 157th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, South Carolina Air National Guard, at McEntire Air National Guard Base, South Carolina, in the 1960s.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (s/n 56-0860) assigned to the 151st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 134th Fighter Group, Tennessee Air National Guard, at McGhee Tyson Air Force Base, Knoxville, Tennessee, between 1960 and 1963.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed YF-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 55-2961) on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, California.

(NASA Photo)

Lockheed JF-104A (formerly YF-104A, serial #55-2961) ground testing its reaction control system. The aircraft was modified with a hydrogen peroxide reaction control system (RCS). Following a zoom climb to altitudes in the vicinity of 80,000 feet, the RCS gave the jet controllablity in the thin upper atmosphere where conventional control surfaces are ineffective.

(NMUSAF Photo)

A formation of two U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighters (Serial Nos. 56-0769 and 56-0781) in flight, 1960.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-104A-10-LO (Serial No. 56-0758).

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-10-LO Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0761) in flight. Note that the aircraft is equipped with an inflight refueling probe.

(USAF Photo)

Chuck Yeager in in the cockpit of Lockheed NF-104, 4 December 1963.

(USAF Photo)

USAF Lockheed F-104C Starfighters from the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 479th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (today Udon Thani), in 1965.

(NASA Photo)

Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0851), 16 Nov 1960.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0851).

(USAF Photo)

Two U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-15-LO Starfighters (s/n 56-0769 and 56-0781) from the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron from Hamilton Air Force Base, California (USA), in flight with a Lockheed RC-121D-LO Warning Star (s/n 55-0127) from the 552d AEW&C Wing, McClellan AFB, California, in 1958.

(USAF Photo)

Four U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A Starfighters (-5-LO S/N 56-0737, -10-LO S/N 56-0748, -15-LO S/N 56-0766 and 56-0772) in flight.

(USAF Photo)

J79 engine with a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

(SDASM Archives and USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0737), HQ ADC Colorado Springs, Colorado.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104A-20-LO Starfighter (s/n 56-0791) of the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Taoyuan Air Base, Taiwan, on 15 September 1958, during the Quemoy Crisis (Operation "Jonah Able").

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Lockheed F-104As, Hamilton Field, 1959.

(NASA Photo)

Lockheed JF-104A (AF56-745A Tail No. 60745) Starfighter airplane piloted by Fred Drinkwater conducted flight testing that demonstrated steep approaches that were ultimately used by the space shuttle. Steep descent testing, including power-off landing approaches and demonstration of minimum lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) landings came out of the interest in the use of low L/D lifting bodies for recovery to landing from space.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed F-104A-5-LO Starfighter (USAF s/n 56-740) carrying a Sidewinder 1-C missile at the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake, California (USA), on 29 July 1960. The Sidewinder 1-C was developed into the Sidewinder 1C Mod 30 (AIM-9C) with an semiactive radar head (SARAH), and the Sidewinder 1C Mod 29 (AIM-9D) with an infrared alternative head (IRAH) seeker. The F-104A 56-740 crashed into a mountain north of Los Angeles on 22 September 1960. The pilot, Capt. Harold O. Casada Jr., was killed.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed T2V-1 Seastar parked next to a U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104B-1-LO Starfighter (Serial No. 56-3719).

(USAF Photo)

197th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - Lockheed F-104B-5-LO Starfighter 57-1301 Aircraft was retired to MASDC Dec 4, 1967. Returned to service with AFTC, Edwards AFB. Was at Florence, SC. Space Museum. Noted Oct 2003 at Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (Serial No. 56-857), 56th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, May 1958.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Lockheed F-104A-5-LO Starfighter (USAF s/n 56-740) carrying a Sidewinder 1-C missile at the Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake, California (USA), on 29 July 1960. The Sidewinder 1-C was developed into the Sidewinder 1C Mod 30 (AIM-9C) with an semiactive radar head (SARAH), and the Sidewinder 1C Mod 29 (AIM-9D) with an infrared alternative head (IRAH) seeker. The F-104A 56-740 crashed into a mountain north of Los Angeles on 22 September 1960. The pilot, Capt. Harold O. Casada Jr., was killed.

(USAF Photo)

331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-104A-20-LO Starfighter 56-821 Webb AFB, Texas February 1964.

(USAF Photo)

331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (Serial No. 56-0871) Webb AFB, Texas April 1965.

(USAF Photo)

TAC 479th Tactical Fighter Wing - Lockheed F-104C-5-LO Starfighters 1960 George AFB, California Shown 56-902, 56-908, 56-906 and 56-907 908 (479th TFW, 476th TFS) damaged by small arms fire over Quang Tin Province S of DaNang AB Jul 22, 1965. Crashed.

(USAF Photo)

538th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Lockheed F-104A Starfighters, Larson AFB, Washington, 1958. Visible are 56-847, 56-854 and 56-786. 847 crashed Feb 28, 1960 at Nellis AFB, NV due to engine failure. Pilot killed; 854 was sold to Taiwan; 786 to Taiwan as 4215, later to Jordan as 130401. Now registered in USA as N66328.

(USAF Photo)

The first five Century series fighters (North American F-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter, Republic F-105 Thunderchief).

(USAF Photo)

Three U.S. Air Force fighters and a German F-104G from the 58th Tactical Training Wing from Luke Air Force Base, Arizona (USA), in flight on 1 August 1979 (front to back): A Northrop F-5E Tiger II (s/n 72-01396) from the 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; a German Lockheed F-104G Starfighter (USAF s/n 63-13269, built by Fokker) from the 69th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (although German, the Luke-based F-104s has USAF markings out of administrative reasons); a McDonnell F-4C-15-MC Phantom II (s/n 63-7420) from the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; and a McDonnell Douglas F-15A-16-MC Eagle (s/n 76-078) from the 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron.

(USAF Photo)

A Lockheed F-104G Starfighter (USAF serial number 63-13269) during a training flight on 1 August 1979, armed with two (training) AIM-9J Sidewinder air-to-air-missiles. The aircraft, from the 69th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, 58th Tactical Training Wing, 12th Air Force, was used to train German Luftwaffe (air force) pilots at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona (USA). This aircraft had actually been licence built by Fokker in the Netherlands and had the original German registration "KG 102". After the retirement of the German Starfighters this aircraft was handed back to the U.S. and sold to Taiwan.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighters preserved
‍

Airworthy

TF-104G-M
54251 – based at Starfighters Inc in Cape Canaveral, Florida[64][65]
54258 – based at Starfighters Inc in Cape Canaveral, Florida[66][67]
54261 – based at Starfighters Inc in Cape Canaveral, Florida[68][69]

On display

YF-104A

(Mys 721tx Photo)
55-2961 (NASA N818NA) – hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian's NationalAir and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. This Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was one of 11 were operated by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.. Modification: Lockheed F-104A (formerly a YF-104A), military serial number 55-2961, NASA number 818. First NASA flight on August 27. 1956, last operational flight on August 26. 1975, 1.439 flights over this period. 19 NASA pilots flew the 818, among them were three Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. Photo taken in Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, USA in 2004.

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55-2967 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, Pueblo, Colorado.

F-104A
56-0732 – McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Alcoa, Tennessee. Formerly ondisplay at Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, Chanute AFB (formerly), Rantoul,Illinois.
56-0748 – Linear Air Park, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas.
56-0750 – Michigan 104, Canton, Michigan.

(Alan Wilson Photos)
56-0752 – Travis AFB Heritage Center, Travis AFB, Fairfield, California.
56-0753 – Hill Aerospace Museum, Utah.
56-0754 – National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. Mounted on a pylon.
56-0755 - March Field Air Museum, Riverside, California
56-0756 (painted as 56-0751) – Nevada County Air Park, Grass Valley,California.

(USAF Photo)

Lockheed NF-104A Starfighter  (Serial No. 56-0760), c/n 183-1048, NF-760, composite with parts from (Serial No. 56-0756), this aircraft was the SR-71 first flight chase plane.  Mounted on a pylon outside the Test Pilot School.  USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) commandant Eugene Deatrick (51A), student Mike Loh (67B), and instructors Jim Rider (65C) and Jim Rhodes (66A) in front of Lockheed NF-104A (Serial No. 56-0760), 1 June 1968.

(Kaszeta Photo)
56-0760 – USAF Test Pilots School, Edwards AFB, Palmdale, California. Rocket assisted,
56-0778 – Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, Idaho.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

56-0779 - Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California.

(nyvhek Photo)

(Valder137 Photos)

(Perry Quan Photos)
56-0780 (formerly 56-0779) – Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, Texas. Removedfrom public display when the museum indefinitely closed on 1 January 2024. Tobe moved to North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

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56-0785 - Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California.
56-0786 – Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, Texas. Removed from public displaywhen the museum indefinitely closed on 1 January 2024. To be moved to NorthTexas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.
56-0790 (NASA N820NA) – Century Circle at Edwards Air Force Base, near Rosamond, California.

(Hector Vazquez Photos)
56-0813 – Easton Airport (Maryland), Easton, MD.

(Bernard Sprague Photo)

(Ray Wilhite Photo)
56-0817 – Pacific Aviation Museum on loan from Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, Warner Robins, Georgia.

(Michael Barera Photo)
56-0826 – Historic Aviation Memorial Museum, Tyler, Texas.

F-104B
57-1301 – Kansas Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, Kansas.

(Mike Freer - Touchdown Aviation Photo)

(kbyywl Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
57-1303 (NASA N819NA) – Aerospace Museum of California at the former McClellanAFB in Sacramento, California. Lockheed F-104B (Serial No. 57-1303), once operated by NASA at Edwards AFB as N819NA. It was used to train pilots to fly the X-15 rocket propelled aircraft and the Space Shuttle. It was later used as a chase plane.
57-1305, (painted as 57-1319), – Kelly Field (formerly Kelly AFB), San Antonio,Texas
57-1330 – Castle Air Museum, Atwater, California.

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F-104C

(Dave Gorman Photos)

56-0880 - Louisville, Kentucky.
56-0886 – Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
56-0890 – Tennessee ANGB – 134th ARG, Maryville, Tennessee. It is fixed to apedestal and serves as a monument.

(Skytamer.com, John Shupek Photo)

(kb7ywl Photo)
56-0891 – Arizona ANGB – 161st ARG, Phoenix, Arizona. It is fixed to a pedestaland serves as a monument.

(Skytamer.com, John Shupek Photo)

(kb7ywl Photo)
56-0892 – Luke AFB, Phoenix, Arizona.

(Michael Barera Photo)
56-0898 – Kalamazoo Air Zoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
56-0901 – New England Air Museum, Bradley International Airport in WindsorLocks, Connecticut.
56-0910 – Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (former Lowry AFB) in Denver, Colorado.
56-0912 – Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas. It is fixed to a pedestal andleft as a monument.

(NMUSAF Photo)
56-0914 – National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

(Jud McCrainie Photo)
56-0919 – gate guardian at the 165th Air Support Operations Squadron and 224thJoint Communications Support Squadron facility, Georgia Air National Guard, Brunswick, Georgia. It is fixed to a pedestal and left as a monument.
56-0926 – Veterans Memorial Park in Valley City, North Dakota. It is fixed to apedestal and left as a monument.
56-0929 – Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham, Alabama.

(Judson McCrainie Photo)

(Phillip Young Photos)
56-0932 – Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, Oklahoma, painted as 609.
56-0933 – Mid-America Air Museum, Liberal Municipal Airport, Liberal, Kansas.
56-0934 – Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
56-0936 (painted as F-104A 56-0808) – Peterson Air and Space Museum, Peterson AFB, Colorado. It is fixed to a pedestal and left as a monument.
56-0938 – Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi. It is fixed to a pedestal and left as a monument.

(MChew Photo)

57-0913 - Palm Springs Air Museum, California.

(Alan Wilson Photos)

(aeroprints Photo)
57-0915 – Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42, Palmdale,California.
57-0916 – Virginia Air & Space Center near Langley AFB in Hampton,Virginia.
57-0920 – Memorial Pa, rk, McEntire ANGB, Columbia, South Carolina.It is fixed toa pedestal and left as a monument.

(Magic Aviation Photo)

(Tomás Del Coro Photo)

57-0925 - March Field Air Museum, California. Mock-up, painted as F-104C (Serial No. 57-0925), “Smoke II”.
57-0929 – Muñiz Air National Guard Base at Luis Muñoz Marín InternationalAirport, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

F-104D

(Alan Wilson Photos)

(Eric Friedebach Photo)

(Nehrams2020 Photo)
57-1314 (painted as F-104B 57-1312) – Castle Air Museum at the former Castle AFB in Atwater, California.

57-1320 -Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum (Travis Air Museum),  Fairfield, California.

(Team gEco Friendly Photo)

57-1322 - Wings of Freedom Museum, Huntington Municipal Airport, Indiana.

(aeroprints Photo)

(Eric Salard Photo)
57-1323 – Pima Air and Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.

(C. Mark Sublette Photo)
57-1331 – Air Force Armament Museum, at Eglin AFB, Florida.

(BruceS Photos)
57-1332 – American Legion Post 64 in Dutton, Montana.
57-1333 – California Science Center, Los Angeles, California.
57-1334 – George Izay Park located at Burbank, California.

F-104G
D-8331 (Royal Netherlands Air Force) – Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma
FX-81 (Belgian Air Force, painted as Royal Netherlands Air Force"D-8090") – Inde Motorsports Ranch, Willcox, Arizona.
FX-82 (Belgian Air Force) – Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, California.

(Clemens Vasters Photo)
FX-84 (Belgian Air Force, painted as NASA N813NA) – Evergreen Aviation &Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon.

(Thornfield Hall Photo)
KG200 (NASA N826NA) – Dryden Flight Research Center located inside Edwards Air Force Base, California.

TF-104G

(Bob Rhine, NASA Photo)
61-3065 (NASA N824NA) – Estrella Warbird Museum at Paso Robles, California.

F-104N (NASA)

(Skytamer.com, John Shupek Photos)

(kb7ywl Photo)
N811NA – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott, Arizona campus. It wasflown by Neil Armstrong.

(Alan Wilson Photos)
N812NA – Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility, Palmdale, California.

Under Restoration or in Storage
F-104B

(Adrian Brooks Photo)
56-1296 – to airworthiness by Starfighters Inc in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
TF-104G
KF+226 – to airworthiness by Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum Hillsboro, Oregon.

‍Lockheed F-104 Starfighter